Not many options for the pirates. I don't think they should spend the kind of cash it would take to bring in a productive position player. Getting Byrd on a 2 year deal should be the best case scenario (no way he signs a one year deal). That's not really going to block Polanco as there's a good chance any of McCutchen, Byrd or Marte will get hurt and then They can bring up Polanco.

I don't mind the Mercer / Barmes split. I think Mercer should be given the opportunity to prove to everyone that he can't do the job before a legit replacement is brought in for SS.

I say just non tender Jones and bring him back for a lower value and let him compete with Lambo in spring training. Could care less about Sanchez, i'd say give him the same tactic. Non tender and then try at a lower salary. Exclusive platoon guys that play first base are replaceable for cheap.

I think they're still in a position where they need to keep loading up the farm system. McCutchen and Tabata (unfortunately) I think are the only guys that are really signed on for a long time. They don't really have any pieces on the ML roster that they can move to fill holes. They have depth in the bullpen, but I'm not sure what sort of trade value someone like Watson or Wilson have. They are still years away from a prospect being legitimately blocked to the point where they could make a need for need trade.

TheGhostofGoulet wrote:Tom Singer of mlb.com is reporting that Burnett, Byrd & Barmes are the Pirates priorities.

I don't have a problem bringing back any of them, especially if Barmes is used as a defensive replacement late in games or platoons with Mercer.

Byrd, to me, is a question mark. He was great this season and would be the obvious right fielder. I just worry that if he gets a nice new contract, which Byrd will the Pirates pay? The one from last season, or the one that had to play in Mexico?

Byrd is the wildcard, I doubt you're getting 24 HRs from him again. Though he can be a contributor even without that. Just depends on how the market drives his price up.

Meh, I think Byrd will be really good again next year. You can't really judge his production how do most players his age, his steroid use makes it sustainable

He got busted for steroids then had a career year at 36. Much like other aging players with steroid connections (Ortiz, Clemens, bonds) it seems like the roids prolong individuals prime more than anything

Luis Heredia is not a lefty, nor is he really in the debate of a top 100 prospect in baseball. So his depth argument is a little diminshed by his misunderstanding of Heredia. Their top (Polanco, Taillon, Glasnow, Meadows) 4 is probably one of the best in baseball, so they're in the discussion for sure. I think a case could be made for any of the following teams:

Troy Loney wrote:Not many options for the pirates. I don't think they should spend the kind of cash it would take to bring in a productive position player. Getting Byrd on a 2 year deal should be the best case scenario (no way he signs a one year deal). That's not really going to block Polanco as there's a good chance any of McCutchen, Byrd or Marte will get hurt and then They can bring up Polanco.

I don't mind the Mercer / Barmes split. I think Mercer should be given the opportunity to prove to everyone that he can't do the job before a legit replacement is brought in for SS.

I say just non tender Jones and bring him back for a lower value and let him compete with Lambo in spring training. Could care less about Sanchez, i'd say give him the same tactic. Non tender and then try at a lower salary. Exclusive platoon guys that play first base are replaceable for cheap.

I think they're still in a position where they need to keep loading up the farm system. McCutchen and Tabata (unfortunately) I think are the only guys that are really signed on for a long time. They don't really have any pieces on the ML roster that they can move to fill holes. They have depth in the bullpen, but I'm not sure what sort of trade value someone like Watson or Wilson have. They are still years away from a prospect being legitimately blocked to the point where they could make a need for need trade.

According to MLB.com’s Tom Singer, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington recognizes the first base issue and he has a specific player that he wants to target over the offseason. The player that tops Huntington’s wish-list for the offseason is Kendrys Morales.

He'd never showed a lot of patience but provided good pop from the SS spot. He's also a shaky defender (for some reason I thought he was a good defender, then I checked the numbers, which is why I should always double check things before posting) prone to major brain farts. Burnett would probably kill him mid-game.

He signed through 2019. He'd make 5M in 2014, 6M in 2015, then 7M, then 9M, then 10M, then 11M. He'd have a 16M option for 2020.

If I were the Cubs I'd hold on to him rather than trade him at his lowest possible point. If the Cubs weren't in such a rush to sign him earlier I'd entertain trying to steal him. While I think he'll grow up last year was a blip the Pirates probably can't afford to take that risk unless Chicago just wants him gone and is willing to eat salary.

According to MLB.com’s Tom Singer, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington recognizes the first base issue and he has a specific player that he wants to target over the offseason. The player that tops Huntington’s wish-list for the offseason is Kendrys Morales.

He'll only be worth it if the draft pick compensation drives down his value. If they can get him at a good dollar value, it would be worth the draft pick compensation.

Eh, the superstars are still getting paid. It might be less of a problem as a few more teams have been liberal with their spending in recent years (angels, dodgers & tigers opening up the pocket books). I guess i'm saying it was more of a problem a few years back when the only teams spending a lot were the biggest market teams, then if a player didn't get signed by one of them, there's no one else handing out big checks.